rap music's memorable banalities

"Cuz I choose to use my infinite potential"
-Jeru the Damaja

this may have been a terrible idea for a thread, but for some reason this lyric was stuck in my head tonite and could figure out no earthly reason why it would be

i said a hip hop the hippie the hippie
to the hip hip hop, a you dont stop
the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie
to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

"I've got a bungalow" - Dr Dre

at least 70% of the group home album

I go to St John's University
And since kindergarden I acquired the knowledge
After 12th grade I went straight to college

A pen and a paper, a stereo, a tape of
Me and Eric B, and a nice big plate of
Fish, which is my favorite dish
But without no money it’s still a wish

It's not about a salary, it's all about reality.

We demand sanitary food

...is pretty good in context, but it got pulled out by a friend in high school as an example of how Wu-Tang Forever was a step down into wackness, and I've never been able to shake that reading of it.

I Left My Wallet In El Segundo

but that's the point isn't it?

best rap banality ever:

Super Nintendo Sega Genesis
When I was dead broke man I couldn't picture this

lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.

the early 90s was so full of filler raps like this

ILM's least memorable banalities

are you looking for the 'whats on your ipod threads'

take 2

are you looking for the 'whats on your ipod' threads

i am looking for the exit, sir

;_;

i'll get me GOAT

And when my dishes were dirty, I got Cascade.
I got it MADE.

wow, that song... that whole verse is amazing:

I'm kinda spoiled
Cuz everything I want I got made
I wanted gear - got everything from cotton to suede
I wanted lead - I didnt beg, I just got laid
My hair was growin' too long, so I got me a fade
And when my dishes got dirty, I got Cascade
When the weather was hot, I got a spot in the shade
I'm wise because I rise to the top of my grade
Wanted peace on Earth, so to God I prayed
Some kids across town thought I was afraid
They couldnt harm me - I got the army brigade
I'm not a trader - If what you got is greater, I'll trade
But maybe later cuz my waiter made potato -n- alligator souflee
I got it made

I mean, it has it all - abuse of the passive voice to make the rhyme work, flat out self-contradiction ("I'm not a trader [...] I'll trade" (unless there's some "traitor" pun that I'm not getting), statements that would probably be true of anybody and don't really prove that he's got it made (wants peace on Earth). The only question is, which is more banal: that he sits in the shade when it's hot, or that he washes his dishes with Cascade?

I like how his waiter is the one making the fancy dishes though - that actually does kind of suggest he's got it made.

I have to honestly thank you for turning me onto Special Ed. "Would you join the Navy if you didn't like the gravy and rice? Think about it."

I'd rather bust a nut than bust a cap

the early 90s was so full of filler raps like this

Come on and dance guys grab a girl don't wait make the twirl
It's your world and I'm just a squirrel
Trying to get a nut to move your butt

I put too much sugar in my Kool...Aid

and it gets warm, take off your hot sweater

if you're tired, then go take a nap

dood ya can't knock Special Ed!!

(many x-posts)

My DJ is warm, he's X. I call him Norm Ya know.

Still makes me laugh everytime.

maybe X should take off his sweater.

And in the off season we vacate in the shade.

and it gets warm, take off your hot sweater

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:35 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

if you're tired, then go take a nap

― Granny Dainger, Tuesday, October 14, 2008 1:37 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

haha these were exactly what i meant

i'll get me GOAT

― HOOS clique iphones fool get ya steen on (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, September 13, 2008 5:46 PM (3 months ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

lol

Buy a half price sweater new

you cant help me if you cant help yourself
you better make a left

I'M GETTIN SLEEPY
I NEED SOME COFFEE

it don't matter if radio say its a hit
real niggas consider it miscellaneous shit

^ ^ ^ Requesting source pls. ^ ^ ^

Saigon on "Say It" from new Termanology mixtape If Heaven Was A Mile Away

I knew a guy like you
his name was Felipe

And if you're dirty, then go take a bath.

first of all I'd like to thank god

a pound costs six in new york
but it's half in Miami

I'm just vanishin' with the vanishin' cream - Masta Killa

I woke up this morning and had that line in my head. I never noticed it until just then. Weird.

Letters makes words
and sentences makes paragraphs

this be the drama
i'ma cause like a comma in sentence
paragraphs indented

early in the mornin' jump out my bed
grab some afro sheen and I comb my head

I've posted this before, on a similar thread, as it is my favorite example of this sort of thing:

You lied about the lies that you lied about
You even lied to your aunt when you went down south

All the way to Africa, a.k.a. the Motherland
Stick out the left, then I'll ask for the other hand
That's the right hand, Black Man
Only if you was noted as my man

I was lyrics like those that, in the summer of 97 when I worked for Domino's Pizza, led me to believe that I could have a future in this rap game.

I like the Whopper, fuck the Big Mac

More like "I like the Whopper BEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!!!! the Big Mac"

Stick out the left, then I'll ask for the other hand
That's the right hand, Black Man

the particular banality of this dawned on me very slowly until one day i heard it and was literally in tears wit hlaughter

Never see me slip, 'cause if I slip, then I'm slippin'.

A nice big plate of/Fish, which is my favorite dish

I know a man named Hank
He has more rhymes than a sirius bank

not to pat myself on the back but i like this thread

But now I'm humble and I can only think
About New Orleans and those jumbo shrimp

I'm sure I've posted this on ILX before but I can't find it now...

Me, I'm a pimp, I ain't payin' for no sex
I'd rather buy me a car or a new rolex

Actually, wow, Kid Rock is great for this. On "American Bad-Ass" we get:

I jabbed and stabbed
And knocked critics backs
And I did not stutter when I said that.

as well as:

I like Johnny Cash and Grand Master Flash.

"Condo paid for, no car payment."

ridin droptop in the winter with the heat on

storch, can i borrow your yacht?

got the dro and the liquor
at the sto, get the swishas
tropicana and a twizzla

dro's got a lotta these

ridin down simpson me and t.i. watchin "lean on me"

basically an young dro rap about eating shark or tilapia is a memorable banality

I'm not sure how banal some of these are - I mean, Biggie saying he's got his condo and car paid for is more of a specific statement about wealth and success, right? It may not be all that thrilling but it's not exactly filling time with chatter that would be true of anybody...

Yeah, and the reason that Rakim talks about fish, is because in the song he's broke and fish is a luxury. I picture ilxors sitting around eating giant salmon steaks being all "ho hum this is so BORING."

ya without the "without money it's still a wish" of course it's gonna seem banal

quoting it alone is kinda unfair.

I AGREE GUYS.

Cigarette burns in my plush
Empty beer bottles in the brush
And my bitch actin' like a lush

<3 dj quik

those arent banal tho -- or not in the spirit of the thread -- those are just easy to identify with (parties over, dudes have trashed the place & my girl is drunk)

Yeah, there's gotta be some finer point of distinction that separates memorable banalities from rapping in a memorable way about banal subjects. They're all good lines though.

Everybody rappin like it's a commercial
Acting like life is a big commercial

In a test of three outta five
Whup anybody's ass at NBA Live

dude if you wnna get rappers started on video games

i mean asher roth has a whole song on the radio right now about how he's good at mario kart

tho in that dept., you can't get anymore banal than mr. lif

Thanks for checkin me, sit on the couch
Pick up a controller and lets play Tekken 3
Whoop that ass four times now you wanna switch
You can use Eddie now I'm Dr. Boskonovitch

on 285 i keep ridin in a circle
inside of my ride smellin like a pound of purple

Man I bring some prime Com and Whiney has to get on some Asher bullshit.

on 285 i keep ridin in a circle
inside of my ride smellin like a pound of purple

This is another one that I think counts as a legitimate lyric, I have had lots of friends who have relished the joys of getting high and driving around the loop (whether 285 or insert-your-town's-perimeter-highway) with your buddies.

YKK on your zipper

Julio Iglesias...We gettin cream like that nigga

More WTF than banal really

It's like this and like that and like this and uh

Man I bring some prime Com and Whiney has to get on some Asher bullshit.

― Styles Davis (The Reverend), Wednesday, May 6, 2009 4:00 AM (10 hours ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Don't shoot the messenger. We could have a thread of 1000000 rappers talking about playing video games.

YKK on your zipper

― DJ Mr. Face Stabba, M.D. (Whitey on the Moon), Wednesday, May 6, 2009 1:52 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

This is the only actual good one since los blue jeans's Big Mac post like 50 posts up.

I never had any idea what that line meant until like 5 years later when I was taking a shit and started examining my zipper in detail for some reason.

Huge chunks of "Rapper's Delight" really do fit wonderfully under this umbrella. The whole discussion of eating bad food at a friend's house is instantly memorable and totally banal...but then there's also stuff like:

I got a color TV
So I can see
the Knicks play basketball

It's like this and like that and like this and uh

― Pete Scholtes, Wednesday, May 6, 2009 11:43 AM (1 year ago) Bookmark

best rap lyric ever hands down

who ate all the pies

I'm puttin' on my shades
to cover up my eyes

I get the cream, cops see me flick my beams
I'm allergic to doc-prescribed antihistamines

And everybody knew the pattern of Pac-Man
Rams was 15, and that then was happenin'

I go by the name of the King, Ad-Rock
I don't wear a cup, nor a jock

next day's luncheon
high class function
food is served
and you're stone cold munchin'

i'm infallible
not into failure

"buckets of ice keep the champagne cool" - juelz santana

i went to the gate to ask where was her dorm
this guy made me fill out a visitor's form

"buckets of ice keep the champagne cool" - juelz santana

― teflon dawn (uptown churl), Saturday, April 30, 2011 1:48 PM (2 weeks ago) Bookmark

this one is great

condo in miami, that's my favorite pad
watching rondo vs miami, he just made a pass

- jim jones

lol

Shouts out to jet jaguar and James brown, so glad I took the time to write their names down, just to big them up.

Doom on Rhymes Like Dimes

I sang on 'Doowhutchyalike,' and if you missed it
I'm the one who said, ''Just grab 'em in the biscuits.''
Also told you that I like to bite...
well, yeah, I guess it's obvious I also like to write.

The clock tick-tocks as I lay in my bed
It's visions of you, circlin' through my head
I sip lemon ice tea, read a magazine
Wish we were involved, in a sneaky love scene

aw

I'm the type of guy that says, "The pudding is delicious."

4 15's didn't see no wire's, and then I heard boom from the amplifiers

-Big Tymers

and my mom is nice and my dad is dead

Ali said 'pay for lunch,' so I did it.

We shared chicken sandwiches. They was a dollar fifty.

hahahaha

four fifteen inch speakers aren't very banal, that's a lot of bass

You don’t cook, you don’t clean or press my jeans / you don’t scrub or wash clothes or buy food / or make any cream in this bitch, you don’t read to the seeds. All you do is watch TV and smoke weed / get your nails done and feet scrubbed and hair weaved / sleep all day, eat, gain weight, can’t breathe.

yes my name is roman, last name is zolanski, but no relation to roman polanski

I'm like 'probably if you clean up and read a little.'

Went to buy me a pair from the skateboard shop/Went home, they didn't fit, so I had to re-cop

PB? PB? Who is Peabo Bryson?
Two years ago I renewed my license

Now I'm not all about dissing someone else personnel
But there's no quota on your odor, that's right, you smell

thats what the song is about tho

well yes, i suppose so.

*Insert 2 Chainz lyric here*

I fucked Sherane and went to tell my bros
Then Usher Raymond "Let it Burn" came on

^Wondering if that one is maybe an oblique gonorrhea joke tho. Or something deeper ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

"I'm rollin thicker than a milkshake
I like to eat crab but I prefer steak" - Spice 1

I go on and on
can't understand how I last so long

Every time "I Got It Made" comes up in my playlist, I think of this thread and thank ILX.

And, for the thread:

Two white cups and I got that drink
Could be purple, it could be pink
'pending on how you mix that shit

He the track coach and a asshole
Know that didn't have shit to do with this, I was just stating the facts though

-kevin gates

is there a rap equivalent of "i just wanted to say i have been otm in this thread"

"word is born", essentially?

its 'bond'

Born makes more sense.

it's definitely "word is bond", although obv Run-DMC had a song called "Word is Born", soooooooooo

it's both and they have different meanings

word is born = "i just wanted to say i have been otm in this thread"
word is bond = well, word is bond

hence the first being used by childish gambino and the latter used by basically everyone who's ever been in hip hop.

when i was 5 my favorite movie was the gremlins
ain't got shit to do with this but i just thought that i would mention

and if you're looking for divine or a little intervention
well the birds don't fly without my permission
WEEZY

sorry those lines aren't banal. i just needed to finish that phrase

When I went to school I carried lunch in a bag

The opening line of EPMD's "I'm Housin'" -- "Coolin' on the scene like a horse in a stable" -- is like the opposite of this. Heard it a million times but never noticed it started with such a weird-ass line.

You break in my car, you will hear 'Viper armed.'

"Word is Born" vs. "Word is Bond" was an Important Debate during my high school years. I think of "Word is Born" as being like "And thus it was written" or maybe "QED"

I don't know Word is Born outside of the Run DMC track but Word is Bond is from the Five Percenters:

Five Percenters were the innovators behind early hip-hop slang, including "'sup, G?" (originally "G" means God, not gangsta), "Word is bond," "Break it down," "Peace," "droppin' science," and "represent."

http://www.shobak.org/text/hiphop-full.html

A-yo why oh why did I need cappucino

--Rock, Heltah Skeltah feat. OGC -- Leflaur Leflah Eshkoshka

smh @ u

haha damn

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhW_ph0ipp8

I can't believe we built this large pizza pie together, no pepperoni
Yeah you wanted extra cheese, sometimes I gave you extras

haaa, yeah

in ya brain i'm guaranteed to have you thinkin and feeling things

Fellatio's amazin', make grilled cheese for you the best

I'm a lover not a fighter. I can't find my lighter

Listen to me now, or listen to me later

http://www.rentalresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/Hanz-and-Franz.gif

came just to add "lemonade was a popular drink and it still is" and of course it's taken

I represent, set up shit like a tent, boy
You're paranoid 'cause you're a son, like Elroy

Listen to me now, or listen to me later

― Doctor Casino, Tuesday, April 15, 2014 8:09 PM Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Oh man, I've had this wrong for years, it's actually "Listen to me now, don't listen to me later."

The rhyme: "I eat the fuckin' pineapple Now & Laters."

condo in miami, that's my favorite pad
watching rondo vs miami, he just made a pass

- jim jones

― J0rdan S., Monday, May 16, 2011 12:20 AM (3 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think about this line as a representative of dipset's entire 00s output

along with

goonie goonie moony juney purple spoonie killa noonie

― and what (ooo), Wednesday, May 17, 2006 11:42 AM (8 years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Not banal in content, but Drake's delivery of "Last night I tried some raw oysters" really puts it in this category IMO.

"And when I was five, my favorite movie was the Gremlins / Ain't got shit to do with this, but I just thought that I should mention"

-Lil Wayne

Thanks for the memories

when i was 5 my favorite movie was the gremlins
ain't got shit to do with this but i just thought that i would mention

― one yankee sympathizer masquerading as a historian (difficult listening hour), Sunday, July 21, 2013 11:05 PM (11 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oops

Never popped a molly
but when I'm on coffee I feel as if I done just tried it

Niggaz in the Bronx call me Lex 'cause I push a Lex.
And I rock a Rolex.
And I lounge on Lex.
And I love sex.

Never popped a molly
but when I'm on coffee I feel as if I done just tried it

― slam dunk, Monday, February 23, 2015 3:19 PM (3 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

looool

Never drank a coffee
but when I eat too much toffee I feel as if I done just tried it

Eminem: "I should download her audio on mp3"

coining this thread title was my professional peak IMHO

it's really good, yeah

Watching movies like damn that Vince Vaughn is a funny cat
Fred Claus and the Kelly up in your closet
Belly full of smog again, ciggys just make me nauseous

EPMD are the kings:

"Sit back and recline
watch the sun shine
take a stroll
listen to rock n' roll
catch a flick at the movies
dance so bold"

good life advice too

EPMD OTM

i ordered enchiladas and i ate 'em

Phife Dawg on Tribe's "Buggin' Out":

"I float like gravity / Never had a cavity"
"I sport New Balance sneakers to avoid a narrow path"
"Drink a lot of soda so they call me Dr. Pepper"

keep a couple hand torches in the jansport
i'm from pebble beach, that's a historic landmark
- mozzy, beautiful struggle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUfuEgAp8FI

three course meal
spaghetti fettucini and veal

It's how son became a big man from a black boy
To name names, a really big fan of Dan Aykroyd

"Feelin kinda great, got change for the toll" on Run-DMC's "Ragtime." Though, the whole cut is kind of a deliberate goof, with lines like "I rhyme when I am sleeping, I rhyme when I'm awake / When I was nine I said a rhyme by putting candles on my cake."

that sounds kinda like the one Cosby episode where he was walking around talking in rhyme the whole time a la "how do you do/welcome to the zoo/i told you I could rhyme/I do it all the time"

Yeah right, my bear hugs air tight
New Yorkers know no turning on a red light

- Redman

Serengeti frequently works the "memorable banalities" vein, e.g. I skateboarded and hurt my knee / I sat right next to a willow tree.

DMC, "King of Rock" - "I walked on ice and never fell."

Wise Intelligent (Stetsasonic) "Uda Man" - "Purple is the opposite of brown."

he's talking about weed obv

"So many successful entertainers with tax problems"

-- Rick Ross, "Ghostwriter"

that is brilliant

There are at least a few lines on the record about taxes, tax shelters, accountants, etc.

"Grinding until my new accountant is fully at ease"

"No school lunch next week/I'm brown-bagging it" - Young MC, "Bust a Move"

I got a color TV so I can see the Knicks play basketball

oops - taken already

"There was a few times I needed your support
But you tried to play me like an indoor sport
Like racquetball, tennis, pool, whatever"

Not long is how long that this rhyme took me

haha yeah, good one

relistening to early Wu tracks through the poll, and there's a lot of classic memorable banalities and old school playful lyricism in there, in my mind Wu where always very different from fx De La but I guess maybe they weren't always as far apart as I thought

"Upset stomach/I had to eat" - Valee, "Shell"

Jay-z : "we dont stop at the tolls we got ez passes"

Guarantee this only saves you like 5 min on I-95 dude

Cali: great place to visit

It's cold as a bitch on the subway platform / waiting for the J

Prodigy - cold world

the battle was won by swords being swung — masta killa, glaciers of ice

D flow - “ tryna drink lighter beers”

Face is pretty, ass for days
I get chips, I ask for Lay's

Though big dog's in this biz
I never see no man chasin' Frisbees

God is good growin up in the hood
Done some things bad, done some things good

kurupt off pete rocks tru master

"This year, Halloween fell on the weekend."

Bushwick Bill, My Mind Playing Tricks on Me

I believe it’s “fell on a weekend”...

That line is basic but evocative; and part of its “work” happens when Bill’s revelation at the end of the verse gives the lie to its specificity.

I believe it’s “fell on a weekend”...

Well now I feel just like a fiend

it wasn't even close to Halloween, but it fell on a weekend...whatever it was

xp LOL

I feel the wind 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.

I did half a xan
13 hours til I land

“I like it when there’s turbulence on my airplanes”

(“What’s Up Danger”)

Nice & Smooth "Funky For You" is rich with these:

Use my mind to control all my body parts
Got an early start, plus I'm very smart
Type of man that the girls want to read about
Indeed I proceed to rock the house without a doubt

Spreadin' peace and love throughout my travels
And take time to read and unravel
Day to day problems, and then solve them,
I can see clearly now as I revolve around suckers who perpetrate heroes (?)
But I'm no sandwich, more like a Manwich
Or maybe like a meal, which is much more real
Than Clark Kent or the Man of Steel

Spring again, and I'm feelin' fine
Pass me an ice-cold glass of wine
So I can get mellow, lay back, and let my girl play the cello
Hello, I hate Jell-O

hello i hate jell-o is hilarious

yeah, Nice and Smooth run the rap banalities game:

Greg Nice, my life's like a fairy tale
Orca was a great big whale
I knew a fat girl who broke the scale
You won't tell, I won't tell
Clientele I must excel
Took a little test, I passed then failed

yeah IRL LOL @ jello, sets a whole new bar for memorable banalities

But they also have one of the greatest banalities of all time, which I think about frequently: “I left my philly at home ... do you have another? I want to get blunted my brother.” Think that track might have another one ...

"Orca was a great big whale" clearly the prototype line for "Summer Girls"

Diamond D: "Got to give a shout to the Large Professor/Thought I lost his number but I left it on my dresser"

How 'bout dinner, a Salisbury steak?"

I said, "Sorry Honey-Dip, but I already ate"

- Scoob Lover, Big Daddy Kane "Pimpin' Ain't Easy"

"heads pretend they're hard, yo their favorite movie's <i>Lucas</i>"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g8V7SMa3Uj8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JygHtlGt9Kc
you used to support your fam off of this
now you can't even buy spam off of this

from the grave, delivers

RIP

At night, New York, eat a slice too hot
Use my tongue to tear the skin hanging from the roof of my mouth

e-40:
sometimes you might find me drinking tap water
up out the public park sinks

“This guy made me fill out a visitor’s form”

One hour done passed; done watched two episodes of M*A*S*H.

They call him Two-TECs, he tote two TECs

not the most imaginative nickname

Hey remember Biggie's friend Two Tecs? Why did everybody call that guy Two Tecs? What a weird nickname. Oh well, I guess we'll never know.

— Rodger Sherman (@rodger) October 25, 2016

DOOM leave the competition steamin' like a pile
Smile, ding! Sparklin' jewels
In effect like alternate side of the street parkin' rules

what that tweet presupposes is that the listener turned the song off after two tecs was introduced and didn't continue with the rest of the album

well, the rest is filler

You will never see me smoking a cigarette
Coz cigarette smoker, that's not me

"No, I'm not Chinese"

--Big Daddy Kane, "Long Live the Kane"

Here, no more dough will be made
Unless it's being made by hoes

That's Dom Perignon, it's supposed to bubble. from whodinis echo scratch!

"My album will manifest many things that I saw did or heard about" - O.C., 'Time's Up'

pic.twitter.com/t0KERirQ4V

— Valee (@valee) July 12, 2022

your girl trying to dance with a bag of baby powder
THE AIRHEADS ARE SOUR

kool keith - serpent

good album

has there ever been a nerdcore rapper angrily rapping about breaking D&D rules

they gave my unc life for selling dope and he 63
barack came in office in 08 and gave him clemency

rio day yung OG - "inrrgee"

in a way this is the very opposite of banal but the delivery w/in the song & the context in which it comes makes it feel like a true rap banality to me <3

P heartwarming!

came in to post this one from de la soul 'all good' but i already posted it 9 years ago

I can't believe we built this large pizza pie together, no pepperoni
Yeah you wanted extra cheese, sometimes I gave you extras

― Spottie, Friday, February 14, 2014 2:23 PM (nine years ago) bookmarkflaglink

still a great line from a great song

xxxpost yeah Serpent is soooo good

AOTY

“Whip anybody ass at NBA Live”

Common on The Bizness